Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
The Detroit Tigers looked good on their latest road trip, but they got a reality check when the Chicago White Sox came to town.
The White Sox appeared to have more fight than the Tigers. They embarrassed them in game one of the series by putting up ten runs after the seventh inning in a game started by Justin Verlander. The Tigers got one back with a win Wednesday, but the Sox still held the trump card for the finale when they ran Chris Sale out to the mound. Sale allowed ten hits but limited the damage all day keeping the Tigers to just three runs despite all those hits.
No matter where the rivals sit in the standings, their pride is on the line which tends to lead to these games getting a little heated. Tempers flared in the sixth inning after Luke Putkonen threw behind Alexei Ramirez. Putkonen appeared to be doing so intentionally, just one half inning after Sale sailed a heater near Prince Fielder‘s noggin. Both Putkonen and Jim Leyland were ejected after the benches moseyed out of the dugouts to engage in some meat head posturing.
There’s a good chance this won’t be the only altercation between the two teams this season. They still have 16 meetings this year, comprising nearly a quarter of their remaining schedules.
The best news for the Tigers is that Victor Martinez finally appears to be hitting his stride. He racked up eight hits in the series and is batting .461 over a 13-game hitting streak. The bad news is they’ll face the Texas Rangers in their final series before the All-Star break.
David Fouty is a columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @davefouty, “Like” him on Facebook and add him to your network on Google+.
